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2026-02-10: Intelligence Brief

Anthropic’s Daniéla Amodei Says Hire for Kindness, Not Code The co-founder of Anthropic told ABC News that her company prioritizes hiring people with high emotional intelligence, compassion, curiosity, and exceptional communication skills over purely technical backgrounds. For Coachella Valley businesses navigating AI adoption, this is a permission slip: the skills that made someone “unemployable” in the 2010s — humanities degrees, hospitality instincts, emotional labor — may be exactly what separates a thriving AI-augmented team from a burned-out one. The question isn’t whether your staff can prompt an LLM. It’s whether they can connect with a customer after the bot fails. Spotify Built AI Remixes, But Won’t Launch Until Labels Figure Out Licensing Spotify’s co-CEO confirmed the company has the tech ready to let fans create AI remixes and covers of their favorite artists, but they’re waiting on the music industry to agree on licensing terms. For independent artists and local bands in the Valley already struggling to break through algorithmic noise and earn more than $60 per 10,000 streams, this is another brick in the wall — more tools for the top 1%, more complexity for everyone else. If you’re making music here, your revenue still comes from live shows, merch, and licensing, not streaming dreams. YouTube Music Launches AI Playlist Generator to Stop Subscriber Churn YouTube Music Premium subscribers can now create custom playlists using text or voice prompts describing moods, genres, or activities, essentially turning the app into an on-demand AI DJ. It’s a retention play, not a revolution — giving users one more reason to stay subscribed in a market where playlist fatigue is real. If you’re a Valley business thinking about AI-powered personalization, watch how these platforms balance convenience with creepiness; most users will tolerate AI curation until it feels like surveillance. OpenAI Flips on Ads in ChatGPT, and 95% of Users Are About to See Them OpenAI has started showing ads to free and low-tier ChatGPT users, a move driven by the fact that only 5% of its 800 million weekly users pay for subscriptions while the company burns $2.5 billion in six months. The pitch: ads will be clearly labeled, won’t appear in health or political conversations, and won’t influence AI responses — but the trust equation just got complicated. For Valley businesses using ChatGPT as a customer service or sales tool, this is a reminder that free tools have hidden costs, and your brand’s voice might soon share screen space with someone else’s sponsored message. AI Shopping Assistants Have a 70% Bail Rate Because Recommendations Suck Nearly 60-70% of mobile shoppers are willing to try AI shopping assistants, but 70% abandon them after getting bad product recommendations — proof that chatbots still haven’t crossed the quality threshold that makes them useful. A startup called Nuvo just raised $25 million to build human-like AI receptionists for small businesses, targeting the 20-40% of missed calls that translate directly to lost revenue in medical, dental, restaurant, and home service sectors. If you’re a Coachella Valley business still relying on voicemail or an overwhelmed front desk, this tech is finally ready — but only if you treat it like hiring a real employee, not a weekend DIY project. Workers Using AI Tools Report Higher Burnout, Not More Free Time A UC Berkeley study tracking 200 tech workers over eight months found that employees who adopted AI tools experienced higher burnout rates as workloads expanded rather than contracted — a phenomenon researchers call “workload creep.” The promise that AI would free up time for golf and happy hour collapsed under the reality that when tasks take less time, bosses and workers simply pile on more tasks. For Valley businesses rolling out AI without clear guardrails or an “AI council,” this is a warning: productivity gains without intentional boundaries don’t create freedom — they create exhaustion and turnover.

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Local Radar

AI Training & Implementation Conversations Heating Up Across the Valley Small cohort AI training sessions are popping up in Palm Desert and beyond, with local facilitators showing business owners how to generate social posts, emails, and apps in minutes. If you’re attending one, ask the hard question: what happens to the three hours you just saved? Without an intentional AI practice or internal council, you’re not getting time back — you’re just doing more work. SunshineFM AI Music Submissions Open SunshineFM Records is actively seeking AI-generated music from Coachella Valley creators. If you’re experimenting with AI music tools and want airplay on the only 24/7 AI-generated music station in the region, reach out at [email protected]. Vinyl and CD pressings are also being considered based on listener interest. AI Receptionist Pilots Worth Watching for Service Businesses With companies like Nuvo scaling AI receptionist platforms specifically for small and medium businesses, Valley service providers — chiropractors, HVAC, restaurants, dental offices — should be testing these tools now. Missed calls after hours or during peak times are revenue walking out the door, and the tech is finally good enough to trust with your brand voice. ChatGPT Ads Go Live — Check Your Free Tier Experience If you’re using the free or $10/month tier of ChatGPT, ads are now appearing in your interface. Pay attention to how they’re labeled, where they show up, and whether they influence the quality of responses. For businesses using ChatGPT as a customer-facing tool, this changes the trust equation — your customers may now associate your AI assistant with advertising, not service. Cal State San Bernardino AI Workshops Alumni: Time for a Refresher If you attended the AI workshops at the ERC Center on Cook Street last summer, the landscape has shifted significantly in six months — agentic commerce, voice AI, ad-supported models, and workload creep are all accelerating. Consider a follow-up session or reaching out to the AICV team to update your AI strategy before your competitors do.